New licences for new year
By K.W. MAK
By K.W. MAK
Source: www.thestar.com.my
WITH immediate effect, all hair salons, beauty centres, massage parlours and cyber cafes in Petaling Jaya will have to make fresh applications for licences if they want to continue operations next year.
Instead of the normal annual re-newal of the licences for these businesses this year, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) now requires the operators to submit completely fresh applications, accompanied by deposits of between RM1,000 and RM10,000. This means that building renovation plans must also be attached to the applications.
Another new requirement is the compulsory registration of customers of their names, identity card numbers, nationality and addresses. The records must be available for inspection by council officers at any time.
Massage businesses operated by the blind are not exempted from ruling. They would have to pay a RM1,000 deposit to get their licen-ces. The normal massage parlours and spa centres have to deposit RM10,000 each for their licences.
Several hair salon and massage parlour owners have approached StarMetro to complain about the financial burden and inconvenience caused by the new ruling. None of them, however, was willing to be identified for fear of being victimised or blacklisted by the council.
“We have been in business for the past 10 years and all this while we have only been paying for our licen-ce. So, why do they want us to pay a deposit now?” a hair salon owner said.
He produced a letter from the council dated Nov 23, telling the business owners to comply with the rules before Nov 27.
“If we are renting the premises from the council, then I understand the need to pay a deposit but they don’t even give a reason for the deposit. So now, I will have RM1,000 locked away so long as I’m in business. That’s not fair and it is a burden on my business,” he said.
On the registration of customers, the operators are worried that walk-in customers would find it a hassle to provide all the details required. Some may object to the registration and stop frequenting their shops.
A council licensing department officer said, however, that hair salons would not need to get all the details but just the names and identity card numbers of their customers.
The officer said a more detailed explanation on the requirement would be given to business operators when they send in their fresh applications for the licences.
When contacted, Kampung Tunku assemblyman and MBPJ councillor Datuk Dr Wong Sai Hou said the new ruling was implemented because there were new bylaws passed by the state for all municipal councils to follow.
“The problem isn’t with the policy but with the way the licensing department is implementing it,” Dr Wong said.
Wong said he had received several complaints on the matter, as the department was asking businesses to submit a fresh application, which would require all documents like renovation plans and floor plans.
“The issue is with the circular by the licensing department. The councillors were only involved in debating on the policy. The implementation process is left to the departments,” Dr Wong said.
“I feel there can be some improvement. I will ask for a review of the need to submit the full documentation to the council because all it really needs is the floor plans to calculate how much to charge the businesses,” he said.
On the matter of deposit, Dr Wong said it was to ensure the cleanliness of the business premises as per the new guidelines from the state government.
He said that if businesses found it unreasonable, they could appeal for a review from the council.
